


Saving Max

by blake_is_strange



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood and Gore, Chloe lives, Drinking, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Grief/Mourning, Healing, I think I might give other characters powers too, Max still has powers, Maybe Smut Eventually?, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV First Person, Slow Burn, Sort Of, Telekinesis, Time Travel, Underage Drinking, Victoria gets powers, but were Victoria and Max really enemies??, chasefield, powers, pricemarsh - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-08-22 19:23:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16604039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blake_is_strange/pseuds/blake_is_strange
Summary: It's Winter Break and Max and Chloe are coming back from LA to find some answers.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, guys, so this one is a little out there but I got it as a request from @melonishus on tumblr. It was supposed to just be a one-shot but then Critter and I started talking about it and we got all excited to write something long and cool. SO, for context, this fic takes place in an alternate universe where the storm happened but didn't head towards the town. Instead, it was heading towards a government facility on a cliff away from the town. Chloe is still alive, but people went missing no one knows why or where they went. Jefferson is in prison (fuck that guy), Kate is alive, Rachel is no longer with us (or is she?;), Victoria gets powers, Max still has powers and no one knows what's going on! Anyways, I really hope you guys enjoy this new fic and lemme know what you think!

Max’s POV

 

The wind whips around me, tugging at my hair, at my clothes, the sound of it coming out like a cry of pain as I watch the funnel-shaped wind moving closer to Arcadia Bay. 

Chloe is telling me that I can’t let all these people die for her, but I can barely hear her. I watch as the storm heads toward a large building that I know I can’t see from the lighthouse, but I see it anyway. It’s too far away.

 

I have this dream more times than I’m comfortable with and part of me doesn’t want to know what it means. But I know what it means in a way. I know that the storm, the one I thought would destroy everything, wasn’t there because of me. I knew it wasn’t there for Chloe, that it had nothing to do with her. 

 

So I’m glad that I chose her instead. Because no one had to die. 

 

I jolt awake when Chloe’s truck hits a bump on the old dirt road, my heart hammering in my chest as I open my eyes to see the ocean far below us, lapping at the rocks and sand. I take a few deep breaths, leaning back in my seat and combing my fingers through my hair. 

 

Chloe reaches over, her hand rubbing my arm as she gives me a worried glance. 

 

“You alright, Super Max?” She asks quietly, not wanting to disturb the quiet. She must’ve turned off her music when she realized I fell asleep. We’ve been driving for almost 24 hours, all the way from LA back to where it all started. 

 

Over Winter break, I’d decided that I couldn’t stay in Arcadia Bay for a little while. I needed time to collect myself, to sort through all the shit that had happened back in October. I sigh and rub my face, nodding to Chloe so she’ll stop worrying. 

 

“I’m ok,” I tell her, seeing her turn her attention back to the winding road. It’s so dark here, darker than other places in a weird way. Small thickets and bushes line the road on either side, lit up by the headlights on Chloe’s truck. There are a few oak trees here and there, standing so tall that I can hardly see where they end, somewhere high among the clouds. 

 

As we drove past Arcadia Bay, it all came rushing back. The death, the fear, the confusion. The worst were the disappearances. After Jefferson was arrested, Nathan, Victoria and some of the other Vortex Club kids disappeared. No one has seen them since then from what I’ve heard. The only person I’ve really kept in contact with is Kate because I knew she needed it and honestly, so did I. I checked up on her every day, made sure she was eating and that her mom wasn’t getting onto her too much. And in return, she told me about what was going on after I left. She and Chloe had even talked more recently. I’m glad that they’re becoming friends because they’re two of the best friends I’ve ever had. 

 

I look over at Chloe, seeing the way she stares at the dirt road ahead, headlights bouncing with the rocks and holes we drive over. It feels more like we’re in a boat on the ocean than in a truck on the road. 

 

Chloe’s changed since what happened. It’s a subtle sort of change. Her body language is different in a way. She stands taller now, her jaw is tight more often and she stares off into space more. She even talks differently now in some ways. She just seems gentler in her tones when she talks to me, like I’m fragile. She’s the only one who knows what I really went through. After the storm, after Jefferson, after everything, she’s been here for me like no one else. Even my parents were unsure of how to act around me now. They treated me like a porcelain doll, but I couldn’t blame them. Not really. All they knew was that I had been through hell and there wasn’t much they could do to stop it or reverse it. 

 

I just hope they’ll let that go someday. I’m not going to fall apart. I don’t think I would even know how to relax that much after everything that’s happened. I only sleep when Chloe’s with me and we spend every other moment together because I’m too afraid to let her out of my sight. And, honestly, she’s probably too afraid to let me anywhere out of arm’s reach after losing Rachel. 

 

Chloe and I had even tried having a romantic relationship when we went to LA, but it didn’t work out. We’re too wound up inside, too hurt by everything that happened to move on and be normal. I’m just glad she didn’t leave when I told her that I couldn’t be her girlfriend after that first night we spent together. All we’d really done was make out. We’d been drunk and alive and on fire from everything we’d seen and from escaping the prison we’d grown up in. But then we both realized that we needed to figure everything out before we could move on to something like that. If we ever could.

 

I know she’s not over Rachel. I can feel it. It hurts like someone squeezing my heart too hard inside my chest, but I also know that I can’t be with Chloe when all she sees in me is what parts of me aren’t the first girl she ever loved. Not that it matters. I can’t imagine myself being normal enough to fall in love anymore. It hurts too much knowing that, no matter how hard I try, I may never be able to save a person I care about more than anything else in the world. 

 

So now, instead of staying in LA until the last day of Winter break, Chloe and I are investigating. After doing some research, we realized that a government facility had been built off the coast in the middle of nowhere in Arcadia County. It had been built and was up and running right before I moved to Seattle and shut down when the storm was spotted off the coast. It was supposedly a marine wildlife studies facility, but Chloe found drone pictures of some stuff that was “hella freaky” as she put it. 

 

I mean, to a certain extent, the tanks of water and busses of people being transported in and out of the facility were kind of strange, but they could both be explained away. The only thing that no one could explain away were the radiation signatures that had been found around the whole facility. I’m not a scientist, but that sounds weird to me. Even an X-ray machine, which is the only thing I could think of them having in the place, didn’t give off enough radiation for the government to designate it a radioactive zone. 

 

Chloe thinks that it’s not actually radioactive at all and they just don’t want anyone going anywhere near the place, which is weird for a marine wildlife studies facility. 

 

As we crest the hill, the building came into view. It’s huge and dark and the ocean winds tug on trees and bushes that have grown inside the fences. It hadn’t been long, but apparently, this place was weird enough to already have wildlife growing around it. It was almost like more time had passed here than anywhere else. The fence had patches where it was overgrown with thickets and the cement and gravel that was inside the fence was dotted with bushes that broke through the manmade walkways. Chloe stops the truck, keeping the headlights on as she stares at the dark building in front of us. 

 

“This place is sketchy,” she says as she leans back in her seat just a little, like she can feel the ick coming off this place as much as I can. 

 

“Hella,” I reply, unbuckling my seatbelt. The logical part of my brain is telling me that we shouldn’t be here, that nothing good will come from us meddling the way we did when we went looking for Rachel, but the brave, angrier part of me reminds me that we have to try. This could mean answers to all the questions that have raced through my head. It could tell me where my own powers came from. 

 

I haven’t dare used my powers since the storm, not since everything that happened because of me. Maybe this will tell me why it had to happen to me, why the universe seemed to have it out for me. 

 

But when I look at this place, when I feel the heaviness that seems to pour out of the darkened windows like soulless eyes, I can’t help feeling fear tug at my gut. This place is… Well, sketch. 

 

“We have to do this,” Chloe says, pulling me from my thoughts as I look to her. Her jaw is set and I can see that look in her eyes, the deadly one that says she’s not giving up even if it kills her. I sigh and nod, opening my door and stepping out of the truck into the cold night air. 

 

It chills me to my bones, the feeling of sea salted wind and night-chilled air tugging on my clothes and hair and my dream, my memory, comes back to me. I can almost see the storm off the coastline, but I know it’s not there, not really. But that fear, that dread that pulls my heart down into my stomach is still there inside me, filling my chest like claws of ice. 

 

“Come on, Smallfield,” Chloe says as she walks up beside me, holding out my camera to me. It’s digital, almost brand new. I haven’t had the nerve to touch a camera since we left Arcadia Bay. I don’t want to be staring at a picture I’ve taken and fall into the past again. I never want to go back in time again, ever. But I know that we need evidence of this place, so I take the camera my mom bought me for Christmas and put the strap on over my head, holding the familiar black piece of technology in my hands. I can’t tell if I’m shaking from the cold or from holding a camera again. Either way, Chloe doesn’t seem to notice. 

 

“Let’s get this done,” she says over the wind, heading towards the fence. She looks so confident, so unafraid with her shoulders squared, leather jacket covering her arms and the black hood covering her short blue hair. “It’s cold as fuck out here,” I hear her grumble as I catch up. 

 

“You’re the one who wanted to do this,” I remind her, walking beside her until we reach the fence. We’re standing beside the main gate, a security checkpoint standing menacingly beside it. I know that there’s no one here, but the idea of us getting caught sends a shiver of anxiety through me, twisting my gut. 

 

“We should hurry,” I say as Chloe sets down a duffle bag she’d packed with tools and the like before we’d left LA, buying it all with the vacation money my parents had given us. I didn’t mind, though. After Chloe and I had decided that we needed closure, we hadn’t spent much time or money vacationing.

 

“Yeah, yeah, gimme a minute,” she says as she pulls a pair of bolt cutters out of the duffle bag, my eyes widening as I watch her start cutting through links in the chain-linked fence. Part of me can’t believe that we’re doing this. I mean, we’ve broken in places before, but this is different. It’s a government facility, not some weirdo guy’s creeper cave. 

 

I take a few deep breaths, deciding that I really need to calm down, looking back up at the dark, concrete building. It towers above us, at least five stories high. What kind of place needs that many floors? 

 

I slowly lift my camera, adjusting the f-stop and shutter speed before snapping a few pictures. They don’t come out that great, but I’m too nervous to use the flash until we get inside. I don’t want anyone to see us. The only reason Chloe can even see what she’s doing is because she left the headlights on her truck on and the engine running. I know it’s a bad idea, but I’m too shaky to say anything about it, honestly. 

 

I lift my camera again, zooming in on one window in particular. I don’t know why, but it draws my eye. 

 

I’m about to click out a picture when a light turns on inside the window my camera is aimed at. My muscle tense and I snap a picture without thinking, my breath coming in soft gasps as I watch a shadow pass across the lit up glass. 

 

“Chloe,” I manage to squeak out, but she’s already rolling back the chain-link fence, making a gap for us to climb through. She looks up when I say her name and sees the window I’m looking at, her eyes widening as she sees the shadow pass at the same time as me. 

 

“I didn’t think anyone would be here,” she says, getting to her feet. 

 

And then the light inside the window explodes and the glass goes dark again. I jump and start to back away, the danger alarms in my entire body screeching that we should leave, that we really shouldn’t be here. 

 

“We should get out of here,” I manage to say, but Chloe grabs the bolt cutters and duffle bag, hurrying to climb under the fence. My heart sinks and I do my best not to scream or freeze. I make sure my camera is securely around my neck and follow her, really not wanting to be left alone out here in the dark. “Chloe, come back,” I whisper-yell, catching up to her and having to keep a quick pace just so I don’t fall behind. She might as well be sprinting. 

 

“Max, this is our chance,” she explains to me, starting to walk towards double doors that are as big as the doors you would see on an aircraft hanger. I worry my bottom lip when she slings the duffle bag over her shoulder and puts the bolt cutters to the chain that’s padlocked on the giant doors. 

 

“Our chance to go to prison or get shot, maybe,” I retort, shaking where I stand, the grass and dirt wet underneath my shoes. I can feel how cold the ground is even through the soles of my shoes. But Chloe’s not listening to me. She cuts through the chain and it falls to the ground, leaving the big handles able to open whenever. My stomach is tying itself knots. This is too easy. People can’t just break into places like this. Not with bolt cutters and the stubbornness to challenge a bull. “Chloe, this is bad.” 

 

But she’s opening the doors, her fingers wrapped tight around one of the handles and pulling it with all her strength. It screeches and groans as it starts to slowly move along the tracks its on. 

 

“Are you gonna help me open this or not?” Chloe asks with a grunt. I hesitate for a moment, moving my mouth uselessly. 

 

“C-Chloe, something’s not right-“

 

“These people have answers, Max,” she practically shouts, making me jump. I look into her eyes, scared to death of the anger and fear in them. It mirrors my own. “Isn’t that what you want? Closure? Answers to why all this crazy shit has been happening to us? According to you, I make it habit to die every five seconds and you can turn back time by raising your hand and thinking really hard. That’s the kind of shit that deserves answers.  _ We _ are the kind of people that deserve answers.”

 

I stand there for a moment, dumbfounded. Chloe rarely bursts like this anymore. But I can see in her eyes that she means what she’s saying. She looks as terrified as I feel, her chest heaving as she rubs her face and runs her fingers through her hair, pulling back her hood. All I can do is stare at her for a moment, unsure of how to react to her words. Part of me agrees with her. I had been craving answers since that day I woke up in class and found that time would bend to my whim. But part of me knew that answers may not be worth ruining my life. I wish I could just forget all of this and move on and pretend none of it had never happened even though I knew that would never happen.

 

No matter how deep down I buried these memories, they would never go away. But… Maybe if I knew why my life had taken this path, I could start to heal. Maybe the guilt would go away and I would be able to sleep at night without seeing Chloe bleed out on the bathroom floor or see Kate jump off that roof or see Rachel’s decaying body every time I close my eyes. 

 

“Ok,” I say softly, looking into her eyes again. “Let’s go.” Chloe starts to smile, motioning with her head for me to follow her lead. She puts her hands on the handle again and I do the same, pulling on the door as hard as I can. 

 

The metal squeals and squeaks as the door slowly, heavily slides open just enough for a person to squeeze through. Chloe motions for me to go first, but I don’t move forward right away. I have to steel myself.

 

From what I can see, it’s pitch dark inside what I can only guess is a hangar for the trucks and busses that Chloe had shown me before we’d decided to come back here. 

 

My skin is crawling as we walk in and I grab for the flashlight in my pocket. It’s small, but it creates a bright enough beam so that I feel a little less uneasy. That is, until I see the large tanks Chloe had mentioned. They were huge, at least eight feet tall and filled with what looked like water until the light hit it, revealing specks of glowing stuff that float through the watery substance. 

 

Chloe comes in behind me, her own flashlight in her mouth as she puts the bolt cutter back in the duffle bag and closes the heavy metal door. It’s easier to close now that it’s been opened, so she doesn’t need my help. Even if she did, I’m too distracted by the large bundles covered in canvas and plastic tarps and the stacks of boxes that litter the strange hangar. 

 

“That window was on the third floor,” Chloe says, her voice echoing around us even though she’s trying to stay quiet. Now that we’re here, I can tell that she’s a little less brave than she had been when we were on the outside of all this. 

 

“So we should be looking for a staircase,” I say softly, still staring at the huge, cylinder-shaped tank of liquid. Chloe looks at the tank too, but doesn’t seem all that interested in it. 

 

“Yeah, and we might wanna hurry,” she says, grabbing my arm and pulling me along, sounding impatient. “Staring at that thing won’t make this any faster.” I nod, taking my camera in my hands to take a picture before walking away, following Chloe as she looks for a staircase. 

 

I try to focus on taking pictures instead of thinking about how the air is so thick in this place that it makes it hard to breathe or how, even with our flashlights, the darkness in this place is like water, engulfing the light no matter how bright it is. The idea makes my heart race even more as I turn my camera to a panel of computer screens and lights that I can imagine were all blinking when this place was functioning. The idea is oddly unsettling and I can feel my stomach tying itself in knots the more Chloe and I uncover.

 

When we finally find a way out of the large hangar, it’s a large metal door with a keypad on the wall, but the door is ajar and Chloe simply pushes it open, a faint whooshing sound coming from the otherwise silent metal hinges. I follow Chloe into what I’m guessing is the entry to the entire facility. It looks like a fancy sort of museum entrance, totally normal in a weird sort of way. I can imagine that most people wouldn’t question this place’s function by the fish tank that lines the hallway that leads back towards the hangar and the blue and grey colors they choose to decorate the place. 

 

Chloe flashes her light over the fish tank, revealing hundreds of dead fish decaying at the bottom, all the water having been released long ago if the crack in the glass is any indication. I gag at the smell, covering my mouth and nose with my hand as I try to keep my dinner in my stomach. Luckily, I had been so nervous to come here that I hadn’t eaten much of the tacos Chloe had insisted we buy from a rather questionable restaurant on the side of the road. 

 

As we walk more towards the front of the building, we reach a desk I’m guessing a receptionist once sat in. I can practically see the panic that must’ve happened here when these people left. There’s a coffee mug shattered on the tile floor, an old coffee stain beneath it. The computer is knocked over, screen to the desk with the leather office chair pushed away by at least five feet. 

 

I take a deep breath, trying not to let the roiling butterflies in my gut overwhelm me. If it were daytime or this place wasn’t specifically off limits, I’d be more inspired by the chaotic emptiness of this place, but I can almost feel the fear these people felt when they were evacuated. 

 

According to a few online articles, they abandoned the facility after the storm, stating that the foundation had sustained severe and dangerous damages and that it would take years to gather up the funds to fix anything. It’s scary to think that this place very well may be about to dive off the side of the cliff it sits on, ready to crash into the rocks and waves below. 

 

I swallow hard and breathe in through my nose, out through my mouth, trying to calm my racing heart as I take a picture of the front entrance of this place. The glass windows and sliding doors are covered in long, metal sheets that prevent people from getting in through the front door. 

 

You'd think they’d have heavier guard on this place if it was really off limits, but I guess they thought that no one around here was bored enough - or stupid enough - to break in and steal anything. If they were smart, they would’ve taken anything of value, but my guess is that they took their research and ran for the hills where bizarre weather phenomena were less common. 

 

Chloe makes her way to a pair of doors like the ones you see in hospitals, big and metal with small windows near the top. There’s light shining through the windows, making reflections on the tile floor. Chloe is walking closer to them, having traded her blot cutters for a crowbar, the duffle bag still slung over her shoulder as she looks through one of the windows. 

 

“I see some stairs,” she whispers back to me before slowly starting to push one of the doors open. I catch up to her, making sure not to startle her when I get close and peek over her shoulder.

 

There’s a flight of stairs at the end of a long hallway lined with doors that I’m guessing lead to offices and break rooms and such. But the lights are on, shining like this place was still up and running, except the stairwell is dark from what I can tell. 

 

“This is so fucking creepy,” I whisper back to my friend, clutching at the sleeve of her leather jacket. 

 

“Hella,” she replied, letting out a sigh as she pushed the door open all the way, one of the lights above our heads flickering as we walk down the silent hall. The only sound I can hear is the soft pat-pat-pat of our shoes on the tile and my heart pounding in my ears. I swear, if we don’t finish this up soon my heart might explode. 

 

“We should hurry,” I whisper, the sound of my own voice breaking the silence sending shivers down my spine. Something’s really not right about this place. Why are all the lights on? Why are we looking for someone we saw walking around inside? What if there are a bunch of druggies or something in here, waiting to rob people that come through and then murder them. Or worse, some kind of weird fucked up government experiment waiting for its next meal, ready to eat whoever breathes too loudly in this place. 

 

“Chill out, Max,” Chloe says sternly, stopping to look at me as she crosses her arms over her chest. I worry my lip, trying to focus long enough to listen to what she says as I try not to imagine some sort of giant octopus tearing our arms from our bodies to eat us. “You’re seriously freaking out way too much, you’re sketching me out. This place is probably empty. What we saw might not have even been a person. Apparently, when these people left they didn’t take much of their shit, it could’ve been a coat on a rack falling over or something.”

 

“But why are all the lights on?” I ask, still whispering as I wrap my arms around myself. It’s getting cold as shit in here.

 

“It’s probably just a power surge,” she explains, turning to walk the rest of the way to the stairs. “You worry too much Max-“ 

 

But before Chloe could finish her sentence, a loud bang and the sound of a woman screaming broke through the silence, making me jump out of my skin and yelp in surprise. Chloe jumped too, screaming like a six-year-old girl and leaping to wrap her arms around me. I clutched at her tall form, my heart hammering out of my chest so hard I could’ve sworn I’d pass out. 

 

“What the fuck was that?” Chloe asks, her voice much higher in pitch than normal. I swallow hard, taking a few more deep breaths before letting go of her and staring at the staircase in front of us. Everything is silent again and the scream sounded far away. 

 

“I- I don’t know but we need to make sure whoever’s here is ok,” I say shakily, slowly making my way up the first flight of stairs. Chloe follows behind me, catching up and grabbing my arm to spin me around so I’m facing her. 

 

“Max, are you insane? For all we know, that was someone else who wasn’t supposed to be here and some kind of government booby trap got them and now they’re minced meat,” she says with a waver in her voice, looking around with nervous shutters. 

 

“But if they’re hurt, they could need help,” I protest, but I don’t sound too brave. I want to help, but Jesus Christ this place is terrifying. “We can’t just leave someone here to die, Chloe. You know that.” 

 

“But what if they’re bad and deserve it?” She asks, the fear in her eyes making my courage feel more solid by the second. There’s something going on here and I’m not about to let someone else suffer if I can help them.

 

“We won’t know that until we find them,” I say firmly, shrugging off Chloe’s grip and starting to run up the stairs, taking town at a time until I reach the third floor.

 

“Oh, so now you grow a pair,” Chloe shouts after me, following me and stopping at the end of the third flight of stairs, panting softly. “Why are we just standing here?” She asks, following my gaze to the floor. 

 

There’s a set of bloody footprints leading down a long hall lined with metal doors. There is a pair of metal doors in front of us, but they’ve been blown off their hinges and lay on the floor, crumbled and dented in a way that only an explosion could create. 

 

“Holy fuck,” Chloe pants out, taking a step back. 

 

“Whoever they are, they must’ve come this way,” I say quietly, my heart in the pit of my stomach as I follow the bloody footprints with my eyes, seeing them lead into another room near the end of the hall. That door is open too. I want to follow them, but my feet won’t move. What if whoever left these footprints is already dead? There’s a lot of blood on the floor. I can almost smell the metallic tang from here. 

 

“Help…” I hear a quiet voice call, so faint that I nearly miss it. “Please, I need help.” 

 

I start running before I can stop myself, my shoes pounding against the tile as I make my way to the room with the open door. Chloe follows me, hot on my heels as we reach the door. What I see takes my breath away. 

 

There’s a form sitting against the far wall, knees to chest as the blond head looks up, eyes meeting mine. I freeze in my tracks, familiarity racing through me. The straw-blond hair, pale skin, dark green eyes. 

 

“Victoria?” I manage to ask, her eyes locking with mine. 

 

“Max, help me,” she begs, reaching out to me. I race forward and kneel beside her, hot, sticky blood soaking through my jeans as I hold her up, making sure she doesn’t lay in a pool of her own blood. It’s everywhere, her legs and ankles covered in cuts like she walked through glass. She’s completely naked, panting in my arms as she looks up at me. She opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out because the sound of banging and thundering footsteps fill the air. 

Chloe looks to the stairs and her eyes widen.

 

“Max, it’s the feds,” she says hurriedly, helping me pick Victoria up off the floor and wrap the naked girl’s arm around her shoulders to keep her steady. “We gotta go.” I nod and wrap Victoria’s other arm around my shoulders so Chloe doesn’t have to shoulder the weight all on her own. 

  
  


“Agreed,” I grunt out, looking to the stairwell so see flashlight beams moving over the walls, my heart skipping a beat as a cold sweat breaks out over my skin. They’re coming fast and if we don’t find a way out of here soon, there’s no telling what they’ll do to us.

 

“The target is on the third floor,” I hear a man’s voice shout as the boots thunder up the stairs. 

 

“Elevator,” Chloe whispers, nodding to the elevator that was closer to us than the stairs. We shuffle towards the closed door, hoping they will open when I press the button that has an arrow pointing down on it. 

 

Moments pass like an eternity as the elevator dings and the doors open. We shuffle into the small elevator and I turn just in time to see three men with automatic rifles standing at the entrance we’d come from, pointing their weapons at us. My heart stops and time itself starts to slow as the man in the middle, wearing all black military gear like the men beside him gives the order to fire. 

 

I close my eyes and put my left hand out in front of me, praying to whatever was listening that my powers were still in me, that I could still save these people. 


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victoria knows things now. But she's bleeding a little too much to explain anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to my girlfriend for editing this for me and thank you all for your patience. I hope you enjoy.

Victoria’s POV

 

I can feel time shifting around us like water, flowing backwards when Max holds her hand up like she can stop the bullets from ever reaching us. Somewhere, deep in my mind, where the dark vignette of blood loss hasn’t muddied my thoughts, I know that she can. Because when she holds up her hand, time stops and slowly begins to move backwards. 

 

Bullets, once frozen in mid-air, float back to the barrels of the guns the soldiers are aiming at us before the soldiers move back behind the wall and down the stairs. 

 

It’s a strange feeling. But I can’t bring myself to think on it too much. All I know is that Max, the person I once wished I could be, is saving my life. Protecting me. 

 

When time falls back into place again, it feels heavy and muddled. They’re dragging me into the elevator, the sounds of soldiers out for our blood getting louder by the second. But I can’t find it in me to be scared. Not when Max is holding me up with whatever strength she can find in her thin, shaking limbs. I can’t tell if the shaking is from fear or from exertion, but I can imagine it’s probably both. People don’t just turn back time and move on from it physically in seconds. 

 

The taller girl that’s holding me up slams her fist against the down button inside the elevator and the doors close just a little too slowly before the elevator rushes down, almost like it was going extra fast just for us. And then I realize that my heart is racing with what blood I have left, my fist clenching around Max’s jacket, my mind speeding with the mechanics of the elevator as it speeds down to the first floor. I can feel the blood rushing to my head as we reach the first floor, Max and the tall punk girl still holding me up. 

 

My legs are numb now. They were just tingling before, but now I can’t feel them at all. I have the fleeting thought that I might not walk after this, even if I survive. I hope I survive. As little as I know about Max as a person, I know that she’d never forgive herself if I died and she couldn’t save me. She’d blame herself and probably never recover. That’s just the kind of person she is. 

 

Max and the tall girl carrying me out of the building is a bit of a blur. All I can focus on is the not falling asleep. The next thing I know, I’m being dragged over patches of overgrown grass towards a fence with a hole in it, a dumpy old truck with its brights on beyond that. 

 

I want to look behind us, to see if the soldiers are following us, but I don’t need to. I can hear them. Their boots, their shouted orders, the beating of their hearts as they make their way closer and closer. 

 

I know that the only reason we’ve gotten this far is because of Max using her powers. They didn’t see us, but they know we’re here. They’re following the trail of blood I’ve left behind. 

 

The tall girl kneels and squirms through the hole in the fence, telling Max to pass me over in a faraway voice. Like she’s farther away than the soldiers that are now searching the storage hangar we came through. 

 

“Stay with me, Victoria,” I hear Max say as she gently helps me through the fence. I can hear the fear in her voice, but it doesn’t make me feel panicked like I would’ve thought. It’s hard to feel much right now. 

 

I can feel my life slipping, but I try to hold on. Just a little longer. 

 

Before I can blink, I’m sitting in the old truck I’d seen before, leaned against Max’s shoulder as she presses her jacket to the gashes in my skin. I look down, seeing the cuts that are scattered over my skin. 

 

I fell out of the tank. It exploded when I woke up and I couldn’t get my balance before falling into shattered glass. It hurts like a mother fucker.

 

“Stay awake, just stay awake,” I can hear Max practically begging me, her hands and clothes covered in my blood. 

 

“We’re going to the hospital,” Chloe says, cranking the truck, but it won’t turn over. I groan, feeling for what’s wrong with the truck. I try to push my mind out, only finding a dead battery and a radiator leak. I reach forward as Chloe curses and slams her hands against the steering wheel. 

“Come on, Chloe! They’re coming!” Max says, panic clear in her voice. I put my hand to the dashboard and press everything I can into the stupid battery. Why the fuck would this dumbass leave her lights on?

 

It takes more energy than it should, but the car starts. Chloe doesn’t seem willing to ask questions yet, reversing right as gunshots start to ring out around us. 

 

I hear them tink off the side of the truck as we speed off into the night. 

 

It’s so hard to stay awake. 

 

“We can’t take her to the hospital,” I hear Max say, her hands pressed to the cuts on my lower abdomen and upper thighs. It’s already stopped hurting. 

 

“Why the fuck not? She’s bleeding to death, Max,” Chloe says, her voice shaky and panicked. I look up at the road. It’s so dark. I don’t know how much longer I can hold on. 

 

“We’ll go to Blackwell and break into the nurse’s office, then,” Max says firmly, the commanding tone in her voice sounding foreign to me. “If we go to the hospital, they’ll find us. I already had to use my powers once so we didn’t get gunned down.”

 

“You what?” Chloe yelled, sounding terrified. “Max, what the fuck? You’re going to get us all killed!”

 

“You think I don’t know that? We’d already be dead if I hadn’t done something,” Max argues, sounding defensive. 

 

The truck speeds down the dirt road and onto a main highway, someone honking at us as headlight flash past us. I turn my head, looking to the speedometer on the dash. Almost 75 miles per hour and climbing. 

 

“What the fuck,” Chloe shouts, pounding her hands on the steering wheel, panic written plainly over he features. Her heart is racing, I can hear it. “What the fuck is wrong with this place? This is fucking insane! How are we supposed to escape the goddamn government, Max? We’re screwed!”

 

“You need to calm the hell down,” Max says not taking her eyes off me for a second. Her jacket is slowly being soaked with blood. “Just get us to Blackwell. We need to take care of one problem at a time.”

 

“Fine, but you owe me,” Chloe says before slamming her foot on the gas. We fly down the road, going almost 90 before we reach Blackwell. 

 

Chloe parks the truck and gets out, running to the main building. 

 

“Hurry, Chloe! She won’t last much longer!” Max calls out, looking me over with fear in her eyes. I stare up into her eyes, my mind and heart slowing. This might as well be it. What did I expect? After everything I’ve done, I deserve this. I nearly killed Kate, Nathan is gone, just disappeared after they found Rachel. If I’d done something, maybe Rachel would still be alive. If I’d just been there that night when he asked for my help. 

 

“Come on, Victoria, stay with me,” Max says, pressing a bit more firmly against the gashes in my skin. I let out a groan as pain flashes over me. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. If I don’t do this, you’ll keep bleeding.”

 

“Just let me,” I manage to say, feeling sleep start to fall over me. Or maybe it’s death, finally coming for me. “It’s for the best.”

“Don’t say shit like that,” Max says firmly, but her body is shaking. “You’re gonna be fine.” 

 

But it’s already so dark around the edges of my vision and it’s only getting darker. Maybe this is the universe’s way of serving me my karma. I deserve this. 

 

“Thank you,” I whisper, finally letting consciousness slip through my grasp, darkness slipping over me. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and have an awesome day!


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe isn't good with blood, but she is good at kicking down doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't wanna leave ya'll on a cliffhanger too long so here we go! Thanks again to my beautiful girlfriend for editing this for me and I hope you guys all enjoy!

Chloe’s POV

 

“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” I grumble, pulling away from the lock I’ve been trying to pick. There’s a fucking blond chick bleeding to death in my truck and I can’t even pick a lock. I grab my lock picks and put them in my pocket, rolling up my sleeve as I stare dead at the doorknob. God, I hope this works in reality like it does in the movies.

 

Taking a deep breath, I kick beside where the doorknob is, busting the door open with more force than I’d anticipated. The doors slam open, sending me sprawling over the tile floor of the main entryway to the building. An alarm starts blaring, filling the building with the sound to summon cops onto my ass. I scramble to my feet, my heart hammering in my chest.

 

“Hurry your ass up,” I tell myself as I run to the nurse's office and kick that door open too, glad that I brought my backpack with me. I look around the room and flip the switch, throwing open drawers and grabbing everything I find. Bandages, shit tons of them, antiseptic, Neosporin, cotton swabs. I even grab a handful of those popsicle stick looking things and shove them into the bag too. I find a box of gloves and figure, why the fuck not? I throw it into the bag and then run my ass off, getting back to the parking lot as sirens float through the air. I get into the truck and throw the bag at Max who looks like she’s about to pass out.

 

“Come on, Super Max, pull yourself together,” I shout at her, pulling her back.

 

“I have to use my powers again,” she says, grabbing my shoulder before I can reply.

  


I’m sitting in the truck, looking at Max still pressing her blood-soaked jacket against Victoria’s belly. She looks terrified, her body shaking, her chest heaving. Victoria is looking up at her, her eyes glazed over as she bleeds all over my truck. I'm surprised when I realize that there's no alarm going off inside the main building that I'd just broken into. But I shake it off, knowing that there's something more important we should be worrying about.

 

“We gotta get out of here, the cops could be on us soon,” I say, putting the truck in gear and speeding out of the parking lot.

 

“I know,” Max says, placing Victoria’s hands over the jacket and then opening the backpack. She grabs the cotton swabs and starts to try and cover the bloody gashes. I keep my eyes on the road, feeling sick to my stomach at the sight of all the blood. It makes my stomach turn. I hurry back to my place, wondering how the fuck I’m going to explain this to my mom.

 

We pull into the driveway and I use the clicker David gave me to open the garage and pull my truck in, knowing that it’ll buy us time if they can’t find the getaway vehicle.

 

“Help me,” Max says when I turn off the truck. “We have to get her inside and stop the bleeding. She’s already died once, I don’t know if I can bring her back a second time.”

 

“You used your fucking powers again?” I ask, fear filling me. Last time Max used her powers this much, we almost died.

 

“I had to, Chloe! She’s dying! Now can you please stop fucking arguing with me and get her up into the house?”

 

“Chloe?”

 

I whirl around and see David standing in the doorway that leads from the house to the garage. I swallow hard. This isn’t gonna be good.

 

“David, please,” I hear Max say, her voice shaking as she desperately tries to cover Victoria’s wounds. “She needs help, she’s dying.” Before I can blink, David is hurrying around to the passenger side and assessing the situation like a true military man.

 

“We need to get her in the house and stop this bleeding,” he says, moving Max aside and taking Victoria in his arms, hurrying into the house. Max and I follow hurriedly behind, the backpack in Max’s hand.

 

“David? Was it Chloe?” My mom asks from the living room.

 

“Joyce, I need you to grab me a bowl of water and get me as many clean towels as possible. And get me the first aid kit,” David says as he brings Victoria to my room. Before mom can say anything, we’re all in my room and David is ordering us around again. “Max, get the blankets off the bed but leave the sheet. Chloe, turn on the lights and move a lamp over here.” Max follows his instructions without question, moving the blankets off my bed and throwing them across the room.

 

“She’s been bleeding since we found her,” Max says breathlessly, shaking where she stands as she hands David the backpack.

 

“It looks like she’s got glass in some of these cuts,” he says taking the backpack as mom runs in with towels and the giant first aid kit that David keeps fully stocked. “Chloe, I need the light!”

 

I snap out of it, realizing that I’ve been standing in the same spot by the door for a while now. I move the lamp, glad that the cord is longer than I thought it would be. I set it beside David as he leans over Victoria, her eyes half-lidded as she watches him.

 

“Security guard,” she says in a slurred voice, her brows furrowed. “Where am I?”

 

“You’re safe,” David says, opening the first aid kit and putting on a pair of latex gloves before grabbing a pair of tweezers. “Joyce, can you help me? I need someone to stop the bleeding in the cuts that don’t have glass.”

 

“Of course,” my mom says, putting on her own gloves and starting to clean a cut on Victoria’s hip, cleaning the blood that had hardened around it before pressing a folded up towel to it. Max is pacing, watching the whole thing like she might pass out if she leaves.

 

Victoria gasps when David moves to pull shards of glass from her wounds, my stomach clenching. I gag and hurry to leave the room, closing the door behind me. I lean against the door, panting as I stare at the wall across the hall.

 

“What the fuck is going on?” I ask the empty air, Victoria’s screams of pain filling my ears. I cover my ears and hurry down the stairs, deciding that I need to make sure everything is locked up. I lock the front door and look out the window, glad that it's the middle of the night and there’s no one out. The perks of living in a small town, everyone is in bed around ten at night.

 

I go to the backdoor next and lock that, trying to collect myself. This whole thing is just so fucked up. I just wanted to find out why Max has her powers and why they seem to affect everything. But instead, Victoria fucking Chase is laying in my bed, screaming and bleeding. I don’t even want to imagine what would’ve happened to her if we hadn’t shown up. Would those soldiers have killed her?

 

Well, on the bright side, at least now we know that they’re going to kill us instead. I go to the kitchen and open the fridge, grabbing one of David’s canned beers and snapping it open, chugging it like it’s water and I’ve been dehydrated for way too long.

 

When the can is empty, I smash it onto the countertop and grab another beer, cracking it open. I’m about to down it when my mom comes down the stairs, her arms covered in blood. I hide the beer behind my back, facing my mom as she goes to the sink.

 

“Is she ok?” I dare to ask, watching as my mom washes the blood off her hands. She sighs, making sure to scrub a bit extra before drying her hands on a green dish towel and turning to me.

 

“She’ll be fine, but she might need a blood transfusion,” she replies, looking me over. Her eyes go to the open fridge and the hand that’s hidden behind my back. “What do you have?” She asks. My heart skips a beat and I look at the ground, my chest constricting as I slowly bring the beer out from behind my back. My mom sighs heavily and walks over, taking the still full beer and setting it on the counter beside me.

 

“Have you been drinking like this a lot?” She asks me, seeing the crushed can behind me too. She picks it up and holds it in her hands as she looks up at me. I’ve grown to be a few inches taller than her now. Just like dad was.

 

“Only for the past few weeks,” I admit softly, all of my mentally and emotionally energy drained. “It started after the storm.”

“I thought it might have,” my mom says, setting down the empty can and gently stroking my arms as she looks into my eyes. “You’re an adult now. I can’t stop you from making mistakes. But this,” she says, picking up the full can and showing it to me. “This won’t make it any better. All those things you saw, the people you lost, this won’t make it all go away.”

 

“I know,” I say weakly, taking the beer from her and taking a swig. “But it makes the pain stop.” She watches me carefully, her eyes getting watery. My heart clenches in my chest as I watch the sadness turn to fear.

 

“I know that losing Rachel was hard for you,” she says, Rachel’s name making everything inside me want to disappear. It hurts to think about her and it always will.

 

“You have no idea what losing her is like,” I say, but then I remember why pain flashes over my mom’s face when I say those words. I sigh and she lets go of my arms, backing away. “I’m sorry, mom, I didn’t-“

 

“No, don’t,” she says in a tight voice, holding her hand up and walking out of the kitchen. She’s gone before I can stop her, so I slump back against the counter and run my fingers through my hair, pushing off my beanie. I look at the ceiling, wondering if my dad can see me. Wondering what he’d think if he knew what I was doing right now. If he knew what was happening to us right now.

 

“If you’re there,” I whisper, looking at the floor as I try to forget that my dad can’t hear me. The thought makes my heart ache. “Then, please come back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and have an awesome day! Happy holidays <3


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max, Chloe, and Victoria have a conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really loving this story so far, I hope you guys are too! Thank you so much to my beautiful girlfriend for editing this for me and thank you all for taking the time to read my stuff! Hope you enjoy :D

Max’s POV

 

It’s at least three hours before Victoria is “stable” as David puts it. She’s fast asleep on Chloe’s bed now, her chest rising and falling under one of Chloe’s band t-shirts. I can’t imagine that Victoria would ever be caught dead in what she’s wearing now, but I don’t think she’ll mind it over being naked. She stirs every now and again but hasn’t woken up yet. It’s almost noon now, the sun hanging lazily in the sky as I sit in Chloe’s desk chair, spinning around every so often. This place hasn’t changed a bit. Chloe didn’t even bother to clean up before we left for Cali, but I can’t say I expected her to. Not only is she not really the type to clean her room unless absolutely necessary, but we were also in a bit of a hurry to just get out of this damn town. 

 

But now, seeing Victoria laying on Chloe’s bed, all bandaged up from the waist down under a pair of sweatpants and her blood still covering my clothes, I can’t help wondering if this was all my fault. Just like the storm, just like Chloe dying again and again, just like everything else that’s happened here. 

 

Before I can fall too far into that thought process, I hear a knock at the door. I spin the chair around to see Chloe peaking in, her hair mussed and her under eyes dark with lack of sleep. She walks in and looks me over, wrinkling her nose just a little.

 

“You need a shower,” she tells me, looking a bit more out of sorts than usual. I can smell the beer on her from where I’m sitting and my chest tightens. She’s been drinking again. 

 

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I say quietly, glancing at the sleeping Victoria. “But I’m scared to leave.”

 

“I’ll keep an eye on her, Super Max,” she says as she walks over and grabs my hands, having me stand. “I’ll get you out some fresh clothes and toss the ones you’re wearing in the wash. Come on. You need rest too.” I can’t help smiling at the gentle way Chloe touches my hands and helps me stand. Part of me wishes we could go back to being kids again. When things like this never happened. When the world wasn’t on the verge of collapsing on my head and Chloe didn’t try to drown her pain in things that hurt her. Where innocent people like Victoria didn’t get hurt because of me. 

 

“Ok, but only if you promise to brush your teeth,” I say as I start to undress and Chloe walks to her dresser. She pauses, having started to open a drawer. 

 

“Is it that bad?” She asks like she knows why I said it. I take a moment and shrug, lifting my shirt up over my head. 

 

“I can smell what you drank, so it’s kinda bad,” I say gently. I get undressed to my underwear and then pause again, looking to Chloe as she looks through her closet, her gaze far off. My heart aches for her. She’s my best friend and not even my powers can take away the pain of her losses, of the things she’s seen. 

 

“I love you, Chloe,” I say softly, hoping she knows that I’ll always be here for her. Even when the pain comes back. 

 

“Love you too, Maxipad,” she replies, tossing me a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that says “Fam” on it. “Now go get cleaned up. Being a superhero is nasty work, apparently.” I nod and take the clothes, walking out of the room. I hurry across the hall even though I know David and Joyce are both at work. 

 

I get to the bathroom and hop in the shower after letting the water get warm. I wash my hair and set about making sure my skin is free of dried blood. I’d tried to wash some off last night, but my arms were still a little stained. I scrub until it stings and then get out, drying off and getting dressed. 

 

When I go back to Chloe’s room, she’s sitting where I had been, staring out the window above her desk, watching the clouds. I walk over and sit on the edge of the bed, facing Chloe. 

 

“You got a call while you were in the shower,” she says to me, turning around and handing me my phone. “It was Kate. She said that someone broke into the school last night and that classes were closed today. I told her that we were back in town and she asked if we wanted to meet up.”

 

“What’d you say?” I ask her, taking my phone and putting it in the pocket of the jeans Chloe let me borrow. 

 

“I told her that it was probably best that she stay away from us,” she tells me, looking to Victoria. “But I don’t think she’ll listen. She’s gotten a bit feisty lately.”

 

“She’s always been like that,” I reply, my hands folding in my lap as I watch Chloe’s face, seeing the almost dead, hundred-yard stare I remember from when she used to talk about Rachel. She doesn’t talk about her anymore, but I know that Chloe’s never stopped thinking about Rachel. Not since she met her. 

 

“She’s good at pretending, then,” she sighs, leaning back in her chair and looking at me. “So, what do we do now?”

 

“Fuck if I know. I just don’t wanna get shot or sent to prison,” I tell her, fidgeting a little. Memories of the night before flash through my mind and I try not to let the panic overwhelm me. We almost died last night. Victoria actually did. The only reason she’s not dead now is because I used my powers. I just hope it was enough. 

 

“David told me that she should’ve gotten a blood transfusion,” Chloe says like she’s reading my mind. “But I told him we couldn’t take her to the hospital because of where we found her. I don’t think he’ll wait for the real explanation for much longer.”

 

“He might be in danger if we tell him the truth,” I say worriedly, getting to my feet and pacing to the closet and back, seeing the fear in Chloe’s eyes. 

 

“Yeah. Everyone we talk to could be a target now,” she says softly. I swallow hard and nod, wrapping my arms around myself. 

 

“What are we supposed to do? They’ll find us eventually if we don’t leave.”

“I know,” she says, looking at me as I try to calm myself down. “I think that whenever she wakes up, we need to leave. Maybe we can bring her home to her parents.” I nod, worrying my lip as I glance over at Victoria again. She stirs and her eyes blink open, as if on cue. I freeze where I am, watching as she opens her eyes and looks around like she’s trying to figure out where she is. 

 

Then her eyes widen and she bolts upright, gasping in pain and clutching her stomach.

 

“Fucking shit, that stings,” she groans and I hurry to her side, almost like my limbs move all on their own. I put my hand on her shoulder and try to encourage her to lay back down, but she resists, shoving my hand off of her. I flinch and back away, my heart racing. “Where the fuck am I? Why are you guys here? What did you freaks do to me?” I can see the fear in her eyes, the memories flashing behind her eyes. 

 

“We saved your rich ass from being shot execution style,” Chloe says, leaning forward in her chair. “And from bleeding to death. So a thank you would be nice.” Victoria pauses and looks to Chloe with squinted eyes before looking up at me, her jaw tight. 

 

“What the hell happened?” She asks me. I swallow hard, trying to think. 

“Well, we-“ but Chloe interrupts.

 

“What do you remember?”

 

Victoria pauses and glares at Chloe before seeming to lose herself in her thoughts, trying to remember. 

 

“I… I fell out of some tank thing and then…” she trails off, her hands moving to rub her legs through the blanket laid over her. “And then I was running and I… I couldn’t find the way out and you guys came and found me. How did you know where I was?”

 

“We didn’t. We were there investigating something else and found you bleeding out on the floor,” Chloe says a little less than politely, like she doesn’t really want to tell Victoria what happened. 

 

“Why were you even there? That place is… What the hell was I even doing there?” She asks, looking to me again. My throat feels tight, my tongue too big for my mouth. 

 

“We don’t know,” I manage to say. 

 

“But when we found you, a bunch of soldiers showed up,” Chloe adds, sounding a little too accusatory.

 

“But that also could’ve been because we were breaking and entering,” I say softly. 

“Wait, why did you guys break into that place?” Victoria asks us, looking to me like I have all the answers. I worry my lip and look to Chloe who shakes her head slightly, looking guarded. 

 

“W-well, we were… We were uh…” I trail off, looking to Chloe for help.

 

“None of your business, blondie,” she says to Victoria, who rolls her eyes in response. 

 

“I know what Max can do,” she says almost nonchalantly, looking back at me as I stare at her in disbelief, my heart racing. How the hell could she possibly know? Chloe didn’t even know and she’s my best friend. I had to tell her myself. Turning back time, as big as that sounds, isn’t exactly obvious to anyone else besides the person doing it. My heart is hammering against my ribs like it’s trying to kill me so I don’t have to face this. Victoria Chase knows about my powers. Why is that so terrifying? “I could feel it when you saved us from being shot down and when you brought me back.”

 

There’s a heavy silence for a moment because we all know exactly what could’ve happened to us if I hadn’t used my powers. We could all be hidden in some government facility right now, erased from the face of the earth because of… Because of what? Because we broke into a facility? Why did they even have Victoria in that place to begin with? It’s like she was a prisoner or something. 

 

“Do you remember why you were there?” I ask Victoria, needing to think about anything that isn’t us dying from gunshot wounds. Victoria takes a moment, her brow furrowed as she seems to think over what might’ve happened to her in that place. A dark look falls over her face and she closes her eyes, taking a slow, deep breath.

 

“I… I remember being poked with a lot of needles,” she says, wringing her hands in her lap. “And them asking me a lot of questions, asking me to move things with… my mind…” Chloe and I look at each other and then back at Victoria. A million thoughts run through my head as I watch Victoria Chase think about basically being a science experiment. Not to mention that part about her being able to move things with her mind. Does that mean that more people out there have abilities like me? Or did these people make her like this? What does any of this mean? 

 

“Wait, so you have superpowers like Max?” Chloe asks, leaning forward in her seat, her eyes wide. “How long have you had powers?”

 

“How am I supposed to know?” Victoria snaps, glaring at Chloe. That’s the Victoria I know. She looks down at her clothes, seeming to realize herself a bit more. “What the fuck am I wearing? Ew, it smells like cigarettes.”

 

“Oh, like you don’t smoke?” Chloe jabs the blond girl.

 

“Actually, I quit after I realized that my looks and health were more important than self-medicating, but thanks for remembering so much about me, Price,” she says with a fake smile that brings back so many memories of Blackwell it makes my head spin. Victoria sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose, leaning forward a little as she puts her elbow on her knee. “This is crazy. This shit is like something out of a lame young adult novel. First I apparently get fucking kidnapped or something and taken to a government facility where I… I was apparently experimented on and now I can… God, I can fucking move things with my mind? What kind of bullshit is this, anyway?”

 

There’s another long pause, a moment where Chloe and I look at each other and then back at Victoria again. 

 

“You can what?” Chloe asks, her voice soft, like she’s not quite ready for the answer. Victoria sighs and rubs her face before sitting up straight and looking at Chloe. 

 

“I can move things with my mind,” she repeats, looking back at her hands that are laid in her lap. “Last night, after Max saved us from being shot down, I moved the elevator faster so that we could get away. Then I started your car. The battery was dead. Oh, and you have a leak in your radiator. You should probably get that checked out.”

 

“How could you feel me using my powers?” I ask, the fact that someone else now knew my secret making my heart race. The fact that this person is Victoria Chase, doesn’t make me feel any better. If anything, it scares me even more. 

 

“I have no idea,” Victoria says to me, looking at her hands again. “I… I felt when you… When you brought me back… I don’t know how or why, but for some reason, your powers still seem to affect me even though I know it’s happening.”

“Damn, you’re lucky,” Chloe says, seeming to try and lighten the mood a little after Victoria’s confession that she felt when I turned back time to bring her back from the dead. “Max always has to tell me when she uses her powers. I don’t even notice. She’s saved my life hundreds of times and I’ve only ever known after she told me.”

 

“Count yourself lucky, it feels weird as fuck,” Victoria says. I sit down on the side of the bed, letting out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding in. “But, that’s not the point, the point is that we’re all fucked because the government was trying to kill us and we got away so now they’re probably looking for us and they’ll probably find us any minute now.”

 

“Wow, way to be a doomsday prepper,” Chloe says with a laugh, but I can see the panic behind her joking demeanor. I can feel my own fear tightening my throat, making me feel sick to my stomach. “We’re safe right now, no one knows where we are.”

 

“As far as you know.”

 

David’s voice scares me nearly out of my skin, making me jump as I turn to see him standing in the door with his arms crossed over his chest. 

 

“From what I’ve heard, they’re searching high and low for a junky old truck and a blond girl that can move things with her mind,” he continues, walking in and looking closely at Victoria, like she might try something if he doesn’t keep an eye on her. “Some kind of government side experiment.”

 

“So what are we supposed to do?” I ask, trying to keep my voice from shaking as I stand between David and Victoria. I don’t even want to begin to think why I’d be defending Victoria Chase of all people. But part of me can’t help it. As far as we know, she’s an innocent party in this. I mean, who volunteers to be a government pincushion?

 

David pauses, looking between the three of us. I can only imagine what’s going through his head right now. He opens his mouth to speaks when the doorbell rings, making us all freeze. 

 

“You all stay here,” David says to us, giving us a warning glare. “And stay absolutely silent. I don’t wanna hear a peep out of this room. Am I understood?”

 

I nod and I see Chloe nod too. Victoria looks too terrified to move. And then David leaves the room. All I can think is that I hope they haven’t found us as I shake where I stand. I keep my fists clenched, ready to use my powers if anything happens. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and have an awesome day!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for reading this fic, thank you @melonishus for requesting this and sending me on a cool little adventure that people can enjoy and thank you to my beautiful girlfriend for editing this for me.
> 
> Tumblr stuff:  
> @blake-is-strange97 (me)  
> @applesaucedinosaur / @crysscrossapplesauce (my girlfriend/editor)  
> @melonishus (the person who requested the fic)


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